just-drinks authors and correspondents

Ben Cooper

Biography

Ben Cooper is just-drinks' sustainable business editor and specialises in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, policy issues and sustainability. He holds MAs from Cambridge University and the University of London, respectively in Social and Political Sciences and Social Policy.

He joined the just-drinks editorial team in 2000 and today works across both just-drinks and just-food, while also writing occasionally for just-style.

In addition to his regular features, Ben has written numerous in-depth management briefings on issues such as alcohol policy, sponsorship, the Fairtrade market, the use of food colourings and environmental issues facing the clothing industry. He also writes regularly for Ethical Corporation magazine which specialises in the corporate social responsibility field.

Articles by Ben Cooper

The publication of research into the impact of Mexico's soda tax and reports by the UK Government's Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and the British Medical Association have again put soda taxes in the spotlight. Ben Cooper reports

Within the sustainable sourcing challenge for food and drinks producers, the focus on sugarcane is set to increase substantially over the coming years. Not only does sugarcane present daunting sustainability challenges, Ben Cooper writes, but as a key ingredient shared by two of the major beverage sectors it could present opportunities for collective industry engagement.

The second part of this year's Sustainability in Soft Drinks management briefing looks at the comparison between recycling rates in the US and Europe, and examines the voluntary actions companies are taking to boost these rates.

The fourth section of this year's Sustainability in Soft Drinks management briefing looks at how broadening stakeholder involvement can enhance company-sponsored research projects, while also examining the role educational outreach plays in the sustainability missions of major soft drinks producers.

In common with several global brewers, the world's major soft drinks producers have identified 2020 as a significant target date in their sustainability strategies. In the opening section of this year's Sustainability in Soft Drinks management briefing, Ben Cooper looks at what the sector's leading players hope to have achieved by 2020.

In the final part of this year's Sustainability in Soft Drinks management briefing, Ben Cooper reports from Coca-Cola Enterprises' plant in Wakefield, UK, where he saw sustainability innovation in practice at Europe's largest soft drinks factory.

The diverse liqueurs category has been becalmed in recent years, but the very diversity of the sector means that, while some areas might be declining, other areas are almost certain to be showing some growth.

The recent problems that the Coca-Cola Co has encountered in India, and the launch by Diageo of its new Water Blueprint, underline once again just how central water stewardship is to the sustainability strategies of major beverage companies.